Operating mechanism for washing-machines.



PATENTED JULY 30, 1907.

W. G. CHRY'ST, OPERATING MEGHANISM FOR WASHING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED 00T- B. 1908.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

III.

NW 3 ho w a a m 0 sq \W Q. N .NN A "1.. h \H a v a \N em QN km mmPATEN'TED' JULY 30, 1907. W; G. GHRYST. OPERATING MECHANISM FOR WASHINGMACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED 0O'1'.8. 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

. Q 1 v ww wh 1%.. aim mm v n n W mm i flllllllll Illlllllllll||l1|||||| III ui hiwlrl I THE mamas PETERS cm. WASHINGTON. D. cv

UNITED STATES WILLIAM G. OHRYST, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

OPERATING MECHANISM FOR WASHING-MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 30, 1907.

Application filed October 8, 1906. Serial No. 338,000.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM G. CHRYs'r, a citizen of the United States,residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State ofPennsylvania,

have invented certain Improvements in Operating Mechanism forWashing-Machines, &c., of which the following is a full and completespecification.

This invention is an improvement in operating mechanism for washingmachines and other apparatus which are adapted to be driven by anoscillating rotary motion imparted to the cylinder or drum in which theclothes or other articles to be acted upon are placed.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a driving mechanismfor various uses which is entirely automatic in its operation to reversethe rotation of the cylinder or drum at regular intervals so as toagitate the contents of such cylinder or drum in an even and regumay bechanged at will.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in thefollowing specifications, and what I claim as new and desire to protectby Letters-Patent is more particularly set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification:Figure 1 is a side elevation, showing the application of my invention.Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail sectional view through the shaft carryingthe belt-pulleys, and showing the belt-shifter. Fig. 3 is a transversesectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detailsectional view illustrating the automatic devices for operating thebelt-shifter, and showing the means for regulating such automaticdevices.

Like numerals of reference indicate like parts in all the figures of thedrawings.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings I have shown my invention as applied to awashing machine, in which 1 is the outer casing or cylinder, and 2 theinner cylinder or drum; and these parts may be of any approvedconstruction and may be adapted for other purposes than that of washingclothes, my present invention consisting in the particular mechanism forimparting to the inner cylinder or drum 2 an oscillating rotary motion.

In my prior application for patent filed September 11th, 1905, bearingSerial Number 277,991, I have shown and described a particular form ofdrum or washing machine which is especially adapted for use inconnection with the driving mechanism herein shown and claimed.

The head of the stationary cylinder or easing 1 is provided centrallywith a bearing-box 3, in which is journaled a gudgeon or stub-shaft 4,secured by disk 5 to the adjacent end of the inner cylinder or drum 2,and a second bearing-box, as 6, is also secured to the head of thecasing to form the bearing for one end of the main driving shaft 7, theupper attaching plate of said last mentioned bearing being extendedthrough the top of the casing to support a sleeve 8, in which slides thebeltshifting rod hereinafter referred to.

As an outer support for the driving mechanism I provide a verticalstandard 9, connected to a curved arm 10 extending from the casing 1,said supporting-frame 9 and 10 being braced by means of a vertical rod11. The standard 9 is provided with bearings for the shafts and rodsforming parts of the driving mechanism.

Fixedly mounted on the outer end of the stub-shaft 4 is a largegearwheel 12, which is in mesh with a pinion 13 on the main drivingshaft 7, the latter being supported at one end in the bearing-box 6 andat its other end in the standard 9, and carries the loose pulleys 14 14and the fixed pulley 15, the latter being located intermediate the loosepulleys. Over these pulleys pass the driving belts 17 and 18, which areop- I positely driven so as to turn the driving-shaft in eitherdirection according to which belt is shifted on to the fixed pulley 15.For the purpose of causing the belts to shift more quickly from theloose pulleys to the fixed ,or fast pulley the latter is slightly largerin diameter than said loose pulleys, the periphery being curvedtransversely as shown more clearly in Fig; 2 of the drawings.

The belt-shifter comprises the usual sliding-rod 19, carrying thebelt-guides 20, and slidable in the standard' 9 and sleeve 8, andprovided at its outer end with a lever 21 for manually operating thesame, and though this belt-shifter may be manually operated by theaforesaid lever it is preferably operated automatically by the deviceswhich I shall now proceed to describe.

The main driving shaft 7 is provided for a portion of its outer end witha central bore 22, in which slides a rod 23 projecting beyond the outerend of said shaft, and at the inner end of the bore opposite slots 24are formed in the shaft in which travels a cross-head 25 formed on theinner end of the rod. This sliding-rod 23 is connected to thesliding-rod 19 of the belt-shifter by means of a vertical arm 26, thehub of which latter is formed in two parts, 27 and 28, which encirclethe shaft 7, the part or section 28 of said hub being in the form of-aflanged sleeve fitting into the part or section 27 and forming aninternal annular recess 29 (Fig. 3) in which the ends of the cross-head25 project so as to move the arm 26 back and forth correspondingly withthe movement of the sliding-rod 23. It will be understood, of course,that this rod 23 turns with the drivingshaft, and in order to connectthe operating lever of the automatic devices therewith said rod has acollar 31 on its; outer end with a screw 32 engaging a peripheral recessin the rod, the collar being provided with pins or trunnions 33 whichare engaged by the operatinglever 30.

The operating lever 30 is pivoted near its lower end in an arm 34projecting outward from the standard 9, and below said arm. is connectedto a slide-rod 35, hereinafter referred to. Above the arm the lever isconnected to a pitman-rod 36, extending through the standard 9 from apitman-wheel 37, the latter being fixed to the upper end of a tube 38supported in an arm 9 of the standard and extending loosely through aset of three different size gearwheels 39, 40 and 41, which are in meshwith companion gearwheels 42, 43 and 44 mounted to rotate in unison on avertical post 45 and connected together by a pin 46. The gearwheel 44 ofthe last mentioned series is in mesh with a pinion 47 fixed on avertical shaft 48, to the lower end of V which latter is fixed abevel-gearwheel 49 in inesh with the clutch-members 50 secured upon ashaft 51. This shaft 51' is keyed at one end to the stub-shaft 4 so asto rotate therewith, and is journaled at its outer end in the standard9. The other clutch-member 52 is in slidable engagement with the shaft51, and is engaged by a spring 53, which acts to move said clutch-membertowards its companion member. The sliding clutch-members 52 areconnected to the slide-rod 35 by yokes 54, so that the idle clutch willbe moved out of engagement by the operating lever 30, and thus preventedfrom clicking, andsaid slide-rod 35 is supported in a bearing 55 at theupper end of a vertical rod 56 rising from the curved arm 10, saidvertical rod 56 also serving to support the intermediate portion of lthe shaft 51. It will be understood that the springs 53 serve merely tomove the clutch-members 52 towards their companion members with relationto the yokes, and so as to compensate for any wear that may occurbetween the yokes and clutch-members.

It will be understood that the gearwheels 39, 40 and 41 are looselymounted on the tube 38, and being in mesh with the companion gears 42,43 and 44 will be turned thereby at different speeds, and, therefore, inorder to connect either one of said gearwheels 39, 40 or 41 with thepitman-wheel 37 a screw-threaded rod 57 is mounted to freely turn in thetube 38, and has threaded thereon a collar 58 with a finger which passesthrough a vertical slot in one side of the tube to engage a recess inany one of the aforesaid gearwheels. When this finger is in engagementwith one of the gearwheels said gear- Wheel is then fixed or fast to thetube and turns the pitman-wheel at a rate of speed Corresponding withthat particular gearwheel, the others being loose on the tube to turnidly and not interfere with the working gearwheel. The screw-threadedrod 57 is provided with a handwheel 59 for convenience in turning thesame.

The connection of the operating lever 30 with the pitman-rod 36 is bymeans of a slot 60 in the latter, which permits of a quick throw of thelever at near the end of each stroke of the pitman-rod.

The operation of the driving mechanism is as follows. Supposing theseveral instrumentalities to be in the positions shown in Fig. 1 of thedrawings, with the belt 18 driving the fast pulley to the right. Thismotion will be imparted to the pinion 13, which being in mesh with thegearwheel 12 turns the drum 2 and also the shaft 51', andthe latterbeing connected to the bevel-gearwheel 49 will turn the pitman-wheelthrough the intermediate gear until said pitman-wheel operating thepitman-rod 36 throws the lever 30, which by means of the slidingrod 23and vertical arm 26 shifts the belt 18 from the fast pulley and the belt17 on to said pulley, and as the last mentioned belt is crossed to runthe fast pulley and its shaft in an opposite direction from the belt 18the rotation of the drum will be reversed. Obviously, when the lever 30is shifted from one position to the other it Will throw one of theclutches, the idle one, out of operation so that it will not click, itbeing understood that the intermeshing teeth of one clutch are disposedopposite to those of the other, and that said clutches being .atopposite sides of the gearwheel49 turns the same in opposite directions,according to which clutch is in engagement therewith.

By regulating the gearing between the shaft 51 and the pitman-Wheel 37the number of rotations imparted to the drum in each direction may bechanged.

As will be readily seen the entire operation is auto matic, and afterthe machine is started a regular and even oscillating rotary motion willbe imparted to the drum so as to regularly and evenly agitate theContents of said drum.

Of course the machine may be stopped at any time by manipulating thehand-lever 21 to shift the belts so that both of them will be located onthe loose pulleys 14.

Having described my invention 1 do not wish to be limited to the preciseconstruction and arrangement herein shown and described, as obviouslyminor changes may be made in the gearing and connections withoutsacrificing any of the advantages of the invention, and all within thespirit and scope of my claims.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim:

1. In an operating mechanism for washing machines, etc. the combinationwith a driven element a gearwheel connected thereto, a driving-shaft, apinion thereon in mesh with the aforesaid gear-wheel, and two loosepulleys and an intermediate fast pulley on said driving-shaft over whichthe oppositely moving driving-belts pass, of a beltshifter for movingthe belts, a pivoted lever for throwing the belt-shifter back and forth,and means for operating the lever from the gear-wheel on the drivenelement, said means comprising a shaft rotated by the gearwheel, apitman-wheol intermediate gearing between said pitmanwheel and shaft,and a pitlnan-rod connecting the pitmanwheel to the operating lever andslotted for such latter connection, substantially as shown anddescribed.

connected thereto, a driving-shaft, a pinion thereon in mesh with thegear-wheel, and the two loose and intermediate fast pulleys on thedriving-shaft, over which pulleys the oppositely driven belts pass, of abelt-shifter, a pivoted lever connected thereto, and means for operatingthe lever comprising a shaft rotated by the gearwheel, a pitmanwheel, arod connecting the pitman-wheel to the lever, two sets of intermeshinggearwheels interposed between said shaft and pitman-wheel, one set ofsaid gears being loose on the shaft of the pitman-wheel, and means forconnecting any one of said gears to said shaft, substantially as shownand described.

3. In an operating mechanism for washing machines, etc., the combinationwith a driven element a gearwheel connected thereto, a driving-shaft, apinion thereon in mesh with the gearwheel, and the two loose pulleys andinter-mediate fast pulley over which the oppositely-driven belts pass,of a belt-shifter for moving the belts, a pivoted lever for operatingthe belt-shifter, and means for operating the lever comprising a drivenshaft, a pitman-wheel, a rod connecting the pitmamwheel to the lever,two sets of intermeshing gearwheels, one set being connected to getherand geared to the driven shaft and the other set being loosely mountedon the shaft of the pitman-wheel, and means for connecting any one ofthe last mentioned set of gearwheels to its shaft, substantially asshown and described.

4. In an operating mechanism for washing machines, etc., the combinationwith a driven element, a gearwheel connected thereto, a driving-shaft, apinion thereon in mesh with the gear-wheel, and two loose pulleys andintermediate fast pulley over which the oppositely-driven belts pass, ofa belt-shifter consisting of a sliding rod with beltguides, a pivotedlever for operating the belt-shifter, and means for operating the levercomprising a driven shaft, a pitman-wheel, a rod connecting thepitman-wheel to the lever, two sets of inter-meshing gear-wheels one setbeing connected together and geared to the driven shaft, a tubeconnected to the pitman-"wheel on which the other set of gearwheels isloosely mounted, said latter gearwheels having recesses adjoining saidtube, a threaded rod working loosely in the tube, and a collar threadedon the rod within the tube and having a finger projecting through avertical slot in the latter to engage the recesses in the gearwheels,substantially as herein shown and described.

5. In an operating mechanism for washing machines, etc., the combinationwith a driven element a gearwheel vconnected thereto, a driving-shaft, apinion thereon in mesh with the gearwheel, and two loose pulleys and anintermediate fast pulley over which the oppositely-driven belts pass, ofa belt-shifter consisting of a sliding-rod with belt guides, a pivotedlever for operating the belt-shifter, and means for operating the levercomprising a driven shaft, :1 pitman-wheel, a rod connecting thepitman-wheel to the lever, two opposite clutches on the driven shaft, agearwheel in mesh with said clutches, two sets of intermeshinggearwheels interposed between the aforesaid gearwheel and thepitman-wheel one set being connected together and geared to thegear-wheel, a tube connected to the pitmanwvheel and on which the otherset of gearwheels is loosely mounted, said latter gearwheels havingrecesses adjoining said tube, a threaded rod working loosely in thetube, and a collar threaded on the rod within the tube and having afinger projecting through 'a vertical slot in the latter to engage therecesses inthe gearwheels; together with a rod connected to the leverand to the sliding mem bers of the clutches to move the same out ofengagement alternately, substantially as herein shown and described.

6. In an operating mechanism for washing machines, etc., the combinationwith a driven element a gearwheel attached thereto, a driving-shaft, apinion thereon in mesh with the gearwheel, and two loose pulleys and anintermediate fast pulley over which the oppositely-driven belts pass,the driving-shaft having a bore with opposite slots at the inner end ofsaid here, of a rod slidable in the bore of the shaft and having across-head projecting through the slots, an arm having a hub with aflange at one end embracing the shaft and a flanged sleeve secured insaid hub to provide with the flange an internal annular recess in whichthe ends of the cross-head travel, a pivoted lever connected to theslide-rod, and a belt shifting rod with guides connected to the arm;together with means for automatically operating the lever comprising adriven shaft, a pitman-wheel, a rod connecting the pitman-wheel to thelever, and gearing between the driven shaft and pitmatrwheel,substantially as herein shown and described.

7. In an operating mechanism for washing machines, etc., the combinationwith a driven element a gearwheel attached thereto, a driving-shaft, apinion thereon in mesh with the gear-wheel, and twoloose pulleys and anintermediate fast pulley over which the oppositely-driven belts pass,the driving shaft having a bore with slots through opposite sides of theshaft at the inner end of said bore, of a rod slidable in the bore ofthe shaft and having a crosshead projecting through the slots, and anarm having a hub with a flange at one end embracing the shaftand aflanged sleeve secured in said hub to provide with the flange aninternal annular recess in which the ends of the cross-head travel; apivoted lever connected to the sliderod, and a belt shifting rodconnected to the arm and pro vided with the usual belt-guides; togetherwith means for operating the lever comprising a driven-shaft, gears onthe driven-shaft and mechanism to clutch them alternately thereto, agearwheel in mesh with said gears, a pitmanwheel, a rod connecting thepitman-wheel to the operatinglever, and two sets of intermeshinggearwheels interposed between the aforesaid gear-wheel and pitman-wheelone set being connected together and geared to the gearwhcel a tubeconnected to the pitman-wheel and on which the other set of gearwheelsis loosely mounted, and means for connecting any one of the lastmentioned gear-wheels to the tube, substantially as herein shown anddescribed.

In testimony whereof I have signed. my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM G. CI'IRYS'I.

Witnesses ALBERT SEAFRIED, ALnx. Convrnnn.

